Lubricating attachment for electric razors and the like



B. A. NAUMANN 3,167,804 LUBRICATING ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRIC RAZORS AND THE LIKE Feb. 2, 1965 I Filed 061'.. 28, 1963 mlmllllIIlllllllllllllllllllllfllllllllllllllllllll MAVAVA A A illlllllllllllllllllllll'llill I NVENTOR. en? /vw Afa/ummm United States Patent O 3,167,894 LUERICATHNG ATTACHMENT EUR ELECTRIC RAZRS ANB THE LiKE Bert Arno Naumann, US. Forest Service, Bilon, Colo. Filed ct. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 319,143 6 Claims. (Cl. 15u-563) This invention relates to apparatus for lubricating the combs and cutters of electric razors and the like, and more particularly, to a lubricator which provides lubrication for the razor cutting members while protecting them from damage.

Electric razors employing a fast moving cutter bearing against a perforated comb are in wide use. The high speed cutter must smoothly traverse the comb for best performance.

Further, electric razors generally do not perform well during hot or humid weather since perspiration and moisture affect the comb and cutter running surfaces as well as causing corrosion and pitting thereof.

The razor comb should also be protected from damage and electric 4razor cutting head covers are used for this purpose. Many electric razor users neglect using these protective covers, however, with resulting damage to the cutting head.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a lubricating attachment for electric razors and like devices;

Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricating attachment of the above character which also protects the razor cutting head;

A further object of the invention is to provide a lubricating attachment of the above character which can contain a reservoir of lubricating oil;

Another object of the invention is to provide a lubrieating attachment of the above character which is relatively inexpensive in manufacture and easy to use;

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE l is an exploded, partial perspective View of the lubricating attachment of the invention and an electric razor.

FIGURE 2 is a side view in partial section of my razor lubricating attachment.

FIGURE 3 is a top view in partial section of my lubricating attachment.

FIGURE 4 is an end sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the wick retaining stud.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to FIGURE l, it will be seen that the invention in general comprises an automatic lubricating attachment having a lubricant reservoir 12 on the attachment top and a lubricant distributing pad 14 on the under side of the attachment for applying lubricant evenly over the comb surface 16 of the electric razor 18. As will be more fully described hereinafter, lubricant is fed to the distributor pad 14 from the reservoir l2 by capillary action for application to the razor cutting head when the attachment is placed over the razor head.

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The lubricant in the reservoir 12 will not spill or feed to the distributor pad at an excessive rate because of the capillary action provided. The distributor pad 14 is preferably made of a soft textile material that closely conforms to the cutting head 16 when the attachment is in place. Thus the lubricant is eifectively distributed over substantially the entire cutting head.

Referring now to FIGURES 2-4, the invention will be described in more detail. The attachment 10, which is preferably made of molded plastic, comprises a curved cover portion 20 which has a pair of longitudinal clip extensions 22 which may be provided with beads 24 to engage indentations 26 along the sides of the razor head (FIGURE l). Thus the attachment may be snapped into place when held over the razor cutting head when the razor is not in use. When held in such a position, the lubricant distributing pad 14 is provided with lubricant from chamber 28 in reservoir section 12. Chamber 2S provides lubricant to the distributor pad 14 through a pair of wicks 30, 32 which pass through a hollow stud 34 provided with notches 36 at its upper end.

As shown n FiiGURES 2, 4 and 5, stud 34 is also preferably of plastic material and is fitted into opening in the underside of the cover portion 20 and through the reservoir chamber 28 to abut the top of inner surface 4t? of chamber 2li. The stud 34 may be sealed in opening 38 with a plastic solvent and has its bottom surface 42 substantially flush with the bottom of cover plate 20. The top portion 44 of stud 34 is also sealed by plastic solvent to the top surface 40 of chamber 2S.

As best seen in FlGURES 4 and 5, notches 36 are under-sized to squeeze the wicks 30 and 32 when stud 34 is secured in place as shown. Thus the lubricant in chamber 28 will not spill or flow in excessive amounts regardless of the position of the lubricating attachment. Notches 37, which may be slightly larger than notches 3d permit the wicks 3d and 32 to be extended in elongated grooves 39 in the bottom of cover portion 20. Grooves 39 are shaped to maintain wicks 30, 32 in contact with distributor pad 14 without disrupting the contour of surface l5 thereof.

Again referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, it will be seen that lubricant reservoir chamber 28 is filled through a threaded till opening 46 which is then sealed by the threaded plug 4S. The lubricating oil then flows by capillary action from the reservoir chamber 2S through the Wicks Sti, 32 to the lubricant distributing pad 14. The preferred lubricant is a highly refined oil of relatively low viscosity such as mineral oil. Such an oil has no irritating effect on the skin and will remain in the reservoir for a substantial length of time and under varying conditions of temperature without turning rancid or changing viscosity. i

The distributor pad 14 can be made of a number of textile or like materials which will provide capillary ilow of the lubricant from the Wicks 30, 32 to substantially cover the surface 15 with lubricant. A material such as mohair or the like which will conform to the razor comb and extend slightly into the small openings of the comb provides a good distributor pad surface.

lt has been found that the useful life of a comb and cutter for an electric razor is substantially extended by my invention. Not only does my lubrication attachment continuously provide a thin film of lubricating oil through the openings of the razor comb, but the incentive to the user to place the lubricating attachment on the razor after each use is increased. Thus, the razor is not only lubricated but is also protected against damage.

The invention is also applicable to the protecting and lubricating of similar cutting devices such as clippers, in which case the cover and lubricant distributing pad are shaped to contact the cutting members of the clippers or like device.

Since the lubricant is fed to the distributor pad 14 by capillary action, the reservoir 28 holds a 6 months supply or more of lubricant. The attachment may be kept on the razor during travelling since the lubricant cannot spill to damage clothing or other articles packed near the razor.

The attachment is inexpensive to manufacture since the cover 20, reservoir 12, and wick stud 34 are preferably made of molded plastic. In use the lubricating attachment of my invention has been found to substantially improve the performance of electric razors and to extend their useful life by providing protection kagainst physical damage as well as reducing wear of the moving parts of the cutting head.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may bemade in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that `all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for lubricating electric razors and the like comprising, in combination,

(A) a cover shaped to tit over the cutting head of an electric razor or the like,

(l) said cover having means for being detachably secured to the cutting head of an electric razor or the like,

(B) a lubricant distributor pad on one side of said i cover, (C) a lubricant reservoir on said cover, and (D) wick means connecting said reservoir to said distributor pad whereby lubricant from said reservoir is passed to said distributor pad through said connecting means to lubricate the cutting head of an electric razor or the like when said cover is secured thereto.

2. Apparatus for lubricating electric razors and the like compri-sing, in combination,

(A) a cover shaped to iit over the cutting head of an electric razor or the like, (B) a lubricant distributor pad secured to and substantially covering the underside of said cover, (C) a lubricant reservoir on the other side of said cover, (D) means forming a wick passage from said reservoir to said .distributor pad,

(l) said wick passage means including a constricted portion, and

(E) a wick extending .from said reservoir through said wick passage means to said distributor pad,

(l) the normal cross-sectional area of said wick being greater than the cross-sectional area of said constricted portion of said passage whereby said wick provides lubricant `from said reservoir to said distributor pad by capillary action, said wick being compressed by said constricted portion of said passage to prevent excess ilow of lubricant from said reservo1r.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein the underside of said cover is provided with means forming a lateral groove from said wick passage means whereby said wick is positioned in said groove Vand covered by said lubricant distributor pad to convey lubricant to said pad without disrupting the contour thereof.

4. Apparatus, for lubricating electric razors and the like comprising, in combination,

(A) a cover portion shaped to lit over the head of an electric razor or the like, (B) a lubricant reservoir on top of said cover portion, (1) said reservoir having an upper inner surface, (C) means forming an opening through said cover portion from said reservoir, (D) a hollow stud in said opening,

( 1) said stud having a notched end secured to saidupper inner surface of said reservoir, (E) a lubricant distributor pad of textile material (l) secured to the underside of said cover portion, and (F) a lubricant wick (1)l extending from said reservoir to said distributor pad through said notched end and said stud, whereby lubricant is metered from said reservoir to said lubricant distributor pad through said wick `by capillary action.

5. Ther apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the opening-formed when said stud notched end is secured to the upper inner surface ofsaid reservoir is smaller in crosssectional area than the normal. crossesectional area of said wick, whereby said wick is constricted at said notched end to prevent excessive ow of lubricant therethrough.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein said cover portion is provided with means forming a lateral groove from said opening in said cover to accommodate said wick therein without disrupting the contour of said lubricant distributor pad.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. APPARATUS FOR LUBRICATING ELECTRIC RAZORS AND THE LIKE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, (A) A COVER SHAPED TO FIT OVER THE CUTTING HEAD OF AN ELECTRIC RAZOR OR THE LIKE, (1) SAID COVER HAVING MEANS FOR BEING DETACHABLY SECURED TO THE CUTTING HEAD OF AN ELECTRIC RAZOR OR THE LIKE, (B) A LUBRICANT DISTRIBUTOR PAD ON ONE SIDE OF SAID COVER, (C) A LUBRICANT RESERVOIR ON SAID COVER, AND (D) WICK MEANS CONNECTING SAID RESERVOIR TO SAID DISTRIBUTOR PAD WHEREBY LUBRICANT FROM SAID RESERVOIR IS PASSED TO SAID DISTRIBUTOR PAD THROUGH SAID CONNECTING MEANS TO LUBRICATE THE CUTTING HEAD OF AN ELECTRIC RAZOR OR THE LIKE WHEN SAID COVER IS SECURED THERETO. 